


Impulse Consequences

by jjokkiri



Series: Consequentially Yours [2]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Mentions of Sex, You guys asked for this, here it is oh god, i'm amazed at how long this is, mature themes mentioned, no explicit sex but, tag suggestions welcomed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 11:13:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7974763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkiri/pseuds/jjokkiri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, maybe giving up his friendship with Lee Minhyuk is impossible——but, he needs a reason to fire Shin Hoseok before he falls in love with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Impulse Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> Some things may not make sense if you don't read the prequel of this. Please check out the more explicit prequel titled _'Stranger Consequences'_. I don't think I've ever written something this long, but I do hope you all enjoy this!

Shin Hoseok, better known as Wonho for some unknown reason, worked much better than Yoo Kihyun could have expected from someone he hired on sheer impulse. Kihyun can’t believe he’d been so careless as to have hired someone without interviewing him, but he’d later blame that on Lee Minhyuk, even though it was far from the older man’s fault. The dirty blond haired man hated taking the blame for things that he could easily blame on Minhyuk——especially considering that Minhyuk was supposed to do a full background check and flag anything notable on the papers he handed Kihyun.

The sheets were blank, so if Hoseok fucked up, then it would be perfectly reasonable to blame his secretary. Call him unfair, but that’s just what you did with your best friend of eleven years——Kihyun would never get Minhyuk in trouble with the higher-ups of their start-up company (he was their only human resources officer and if he fucked up, then they’d both be out of their jobs and the entire start-up would probably shut down without them).

As much as he claimed he hated Minhyuk, there was no way that he could live without his best friend.

There’s a problem with Shin Hoseok, Wonho or whatever: he’s entirely too forward. He makes it blatantly obvious that he’s interested in Kihyun——and if no one else noticed, then Kihyun would brush it off as his imagination, but Minhyuk gives him this look that tells him he thinks there’s something being hidden from him. Kihyun didn’t like hiding things from his best friend, but the older man still doesn’t know that he’s hired the man he’d hooked up with.

It’s kind of ridiculous.

A week after he hired Hoseok, the platinum haired man is already attached to the hip with his co-worker (and guide), Lim Changkyun——Kihyun’s favourite accountant cum information technology officer (simply because Changkyun was brilliant and they were a little short of staff), because Changkyun scrutinized everything and ensured that every decimal was accurately rounded to the nearest hundredth and _memorized_. And Changkyun didn’t befriend people too easily.

It’s approximately an hour before his lunch time, and Kihyun is walking down the aisles between the cubicles to search for one of their newer interns with a bunch of files in his hands, when he sees Changkyun leaning over Hoseok’s shoulder and they’re both intently staring at the computer screen in front of them. Suspicious, the dirty blond haired man rounded the corner towards Changkyun’s office.

He’s just barely out of earshot, when he hears Changkyun murmur to Hoseok: “Are you more of a tits or ass kind of guy?”

It’s been a week since Hoseok started working here. Kihyun seriously can’t believe this.

Kihyun pushed open the glass door of Changkyun’s office and glared at the accountant, “Appropriate topics for the office please, Mr. Lim,” his tone is stern. “This is a workplace, not a rated playground. I need the monthly financial statements on my desk by the time you leave the office this afternoon. So, unless you’re done, I would highly suggest that you ask Mr. Shin to leave your office so you can finish that for me.”

The young man shrunk underneath the gaze and he straightened himself out, “Yes, sir.”

When he turns away to continue his search, he hears the remainder of the conversation.

“Kihyun only ever calls me _‘Mr. Lim’_ when he’s pissed,” Changkyun whispered to Hoseok. “And Kihyun is never happy.”

He can feel Hoseok’s gaze on him (and it doesn’t take a genius to know that he’s staring at his ass), before there’s a clearing of his throat and he hears Hoseok’s voice again, “... I’m definitely an ass guy.”

 

 

 

“You’re too harsh on the kid,” Hoseok’s voice came from behind him as he reached for something to eat in the company lunch room’s fridge. He emerged from the fridge with a box of strawberries (that definitely aren’t his, because they have a large taped label on them that says _‘Property of Lee Minhyuk’_ ) and he rolled his eyes.

“He’s a big boy. He can handle it,” Kihyun replied, “What are you doing in here?”

“Grabbing something to eat,” came the response. “And paying you a short little visit.”

Sinewy arms are wrapped around his waist and Kihyun attempts to inch away from the taller man before anyone can see them. This happened every single day, and if Kihyun wasn’t a respected figure in the office, then maybe he wouldn’t mind it too much. But he is, and Hoseok is too much of a flirt for him to handle.

“I didn’t ask for you to visit me, Mr. Shin,” Kihyun responded. Hoseok frowned.

“Kihyun,” he whispered into his ear, softly, “Why are you calling me by my surname?”

“You’ve been working here for a week,” Kihyun told him, shrugging off the way the other’s man voice makes him shiver a little, “We’re far from a first name basis. And if you must know, I only call Minhyuk, Changkyun, Hyunwoo, Jooheon and their associates by their first names.”

The withering gaze he’s given almost makes him laugh, but Kihyun refrains from actually laughing, “... that’s _everyone in this office but me_.”

Kihyun popped a strawberry into his mouth and nodded, leaning a little closer to Hoseok, _“Exactly.”_

The next second has him pushing the taller man away from him and sashaying out of the lunch room. He plopped the remainder of the box of strawberries onto Minhyuk’s desk and earns himself a loud complaint of stealing his best friend’s food, before he shuts the door of his office. Kihyun seated himself at his desk and buried his face into his hands.

His heart doesn’t stop racing.

He absolutely _loathes_ the way he feels after he sleeps with someone.

He knows it isn’t nice of him to act so distant to Hoseok and treat him like an outsider to the company——he should be more professional than that. But, he has to put up the act because if he doesn’t then all the memories of Hoseok pushing him gently into the sheets and fucking him senseless comes back to him. And if that happens, then he starts to feel things——things that he definitely doesn’t want to feel ever again.

Or maybe, just not with someone whom he was only supposed to have a one night stand with.

A one night stand turning into an employer-employee relationship definitely wasn’t a part of the equation and Kihyun thinks he might go insane if this continues.

Kihyun’s phone buzzed and he glanced at it.

 **[ 12:45 PM ] SHIN HOSEOK (WONHO):** Babe, you’re cruel. :(

He ignores it (pretends that it’s a wrong number text, because he’s definitely not anyone’s _babe_ ), but then his phone buzzes again.

 **[ 12:46 PM ] LEE MINHYUK:** Hoseok just left the lunch room looking extremely miserable. What did you do?

“Why do you think I did something?” he shouted through the door.

“It’s always you!” he hears Minhyuk yell back.

_So much for best friends._

 

 

 

Minhyuk finds out about the hickeys skittered across his body the next day, when Kihyun accidentally wears a shirt that’s a little too low cut. He hadn’t thought that the bruises would have still been there and he’d left his house a little late——didn’t have the time to give himself a thorough inspection in the mirror before he left. It seemed when Hoseok left marks, he left dark and deep marks.

They’re not obvious——they’re faded and almost gone——but it’s enough to pique Minhyuk’s interest. As if there was anything potentially regarding Yoo Kihyun’s sex life that _didn’t_ interest Minhyuk.

“Who gave you those?” Minhyuk curiously asked, poking at one of the marks on Kihyun’s chest.

His fingers irritably ran through his dark blond locks before he pushed Minhyuk’s hand away, “Some guy at the club.”

“Oh my god, you actually got laid?”

Kihyun glared at his best friend and pretends that he didn’t hear him.

Within an hour, the entire office knows about it. Changkyun dropped by his office to congratulate him on finally getting laid (and actually hands him a useful stack of documents), Hyunwoo (their strict robot-like marketing and operations manager) actually cracks a knowing smile at him, and when Kihyun is walking to the washroom on the other side of the office, he hears Jooheon wolf-whistle at him. For the hundredth time that week, Kihyun assures himself that: _yes, I hate my best friend more than anything in the world._

As he’s washing his hands, the door of the washroom creaked open and suddenly, he’s staring at Hoseok’s reflection behind his own. The dark blonde haired man jumped back in sudden shock——stumbling over his feet and nearly crashing into the platinum haired man (Hoseok stabilizes him with warm hands on his shoulders)——and held a hand over his chest, voice breathless from the wave of surprise, “What the fuck?”

“Sorry, did I scare you?”

“You came out of nowhere,” Kihyun breathed, accusingly.

There’s a soft chuckle, and though Kihyun can stand on his own again, Hoseok doesn’t let go of him.

“Red’s your colour,” Hoseok commented, licking his lips and the foolish part of Kihyun hopes he says something more. “You look really good, today.”

“Thanks?” the expression on Kihyun’s face is perplexed and he doesn’t know what else to say.

And then there’s a silence between them. Hoseok is staring at him intently in the reflection, hands hot where he touches Kihyun and they don’t say a word. Kihyun hardly even remembers why he was in the washroom, but this all just reminds him too much of the night that he met the man standing behind him. Except, Hoseok looks so much better with a designer tie than he did in the slacks and shirt which had graced Kihyun’s floors for a night.

“We’re alone,” Hoseok murmured, his voice dropping to a low whisper in his ear, “Can I kiss you?”

The taller man’s scent is intoxicating——that’s what he’d blame it on, later, when he remembers that his heart skipped a beat and he’d nodded his head in acceptance to Hoseok’s words. In that moment, he doesn’t think any more because he’s turned around and the small of his back is pushed against the edge of the row of sinks, Hoseok’s arms wrapped around his waist and their lips pressed together.

It feels like it’s been forever since he kissed this man. And a week is a reasonable ‘forever’.

He melts into it slowly. Hoseok kisses him gently, but insistently——sweet and intimate. It’s the heat of tongues pressed against one another; it’s the way their bodies press closer to one another and it’s the brushing of lips in between breaths, because they don’t ever want to move away from one another. It’s bliss.

But, he snaps out of it shortly——his mind flashing an image of the intimacy he shared with his ex-boyfriend. His mind reminds him of the pain he’d gone through just shortly after moments of bliss and he’s reminded that he’s not supposed to fall for the men from night clubs. It’s a one-time thing. It’s always a one-time thing.

It’s okay for it to happen once, but anything more makes him _fall_ and that’s for the worst.

Kissing Hoseok like this is _not_ following the one time rule.

Kihyun pushed the platinum haired man away from him, both palms flat against his chest and he’s breathless.

“What’s wrong?” obvious concern coloured Hoseok’s tone and Kihyun’s heart is reminded that _this man actually cared about him, even when they were drunk and mindlessly fucking._ But, his mind assures him that he’s being foolish.

“I can’t,” Kihyun breathed, “I just _can’t._ ”

It’s with a sad gaze that Hoseok looks at him and there’s this nasty clenching in his gut. He doesn't understand and it's obvious. Kihyun wants to disappear. Hoseok beats him to it——hands removing themselves from Kihyun’s body and shoving back into his pockets; the shuffling of his feet as he turned towards the door.

“I'll head back to work,” the taller man tells him.

As Hoseok leaves the washroom, Kihyun’s eyes direct themselves to the mirror: his cheeks are stained a bright red——almost comparable to the red colour of his shirt——and his lips are rubbed raw and red. He inhaled sharply.

_He hates Lee Minhyuk more than everything in the world, aside from the way he feels around Shin Hoseok._

 

 

 

Three days after they kiss, Minhyuk is catching onto things. The white-haired man felt the tension in the office and it’s not what he’s used to. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that he hates it. His best friend is entirely too quiet——he’s always been quiet, but it’s a different kind of quiet. Minhyuk associated this kind of silence with the month that Kihyun shut himself out from the world because Hyungwon had broken up with him.

The horror came to him like a rushing train, because the morning had gone smoothly, but Kihyun looked stressed as he headed in Minhyuk’s direction. The secretary prepared a sticky note and a pen, in case Kihyun spat out instructions for him before locking himself in his office——that was the typical, anyway. But, Kihyun doesn’t actually do that.

“Minhyuk, clear my afternoon, I’m going out.” Kihyun declared, brushing past his best friend and grabbing his jacket from his office before locking the door. “You’re in charge for the rest of the afternoon. Changkyun owes me nothing today, but he’s going to come to talk about payrolls: numbers are on my desk——you know what to do. Hyunwoo has a couple proposals, tell him to take a closer look at page four of the business report before making a decision. Jooheon needs to schedule the annual meeting of officers for a week later than we intended. Anyone else is irrelevant for the day and you can tell them I told you that you aren’t obligated to speak to them because I said so——got it? Good.”

Before Minhyuk can complain, his hands are busy preventing a bundle of keys from smashing into his face. Kihyun is gone before he can say anything more. Kihyun never asks for his afternoon cleared. _Ever_.

Minhyuk pretends he doesn’t see Kihyun pretending that he’d forgotten something and turn in a different direction, when he sees Hoseok walk in his direction. The tall blond has a couple folders in his hands and he approached Minhyuk’s desk.

“Is Kihyun in his office?”

The white-haired man has no idea how Hoseok had missed Kihyun completely, but his mind quickly skimmed through the list of tasks Kihyun left him with, before turning to pretend to be looking things up on his laptop——Hoseok was on the list of people he was allowed to ignore.

“Mr. Yoo said I am not obligated to answer you,” Minhyuk answered. There’s an audible groan that leaves Hoseok’s lips.

“My fuckin’ god,” Hoseok murmured, “Not you too. Why is everyone ignoring me today?”

That catches Minhyuk’s attention. He stopped pretending to type and he lowered his glasses, arching an eyebrow, “Everyone is ignoring you?”

The other man doesn’t look impressed, but he nodded, “Yeah. Kihyun’s been ignoring me since three days ago, but that’s understandable——Changkyun is too busy to talk to me; Jooheon didn’t even greet me this morning, and Hyunwoo’s never actually talked to me anyway——literally, only the female interns are talking to me.”

“Well, then not everyone is ignoring you,” Minhyuk quipped, before his mind reeled and he raised an eyebrow, “Wait——did you say you know why Kihyun’s ignoring you?”

The blond eyed him warily and nodded.

Suddenly, Minhyuk is off of his feet and he’s putting Kihyun’s bundle of keys into use, shoving one of the keys into the lock of Kihyun’s door and he grabbed the taller man’s wrist, pulling him into the office. Hoseok actually looks a little frightened when he shut and locked the door and then turned to look at him.

“Listen,” Minhyuk started, “That man is my best friend, as much as he hates to admit it and he’s been acting very odd lately——honestly, he’s been acting weird since that one night I took him to the nightclub, but you don’t need to know that, because that’s completely irrelevant to you. But, if you know why Kihyun is like this, or have any leads as to why, then I want to know. And I want to know _now_.”

Hoseok stared at him in silence, but Minhyuk’s eyes are burning with a passion that declare that he _needs_ to know what was going on with his best friend. It’s the white-haired man’s way of showing that he cares, whether Kihyun can see it or not.

“Hello? Earth to Hoseok?” he snapped his fingers in front of the taller man’s eyes and Hoseok seemed to snap out of it.

“Um...” the blond exhaled, “Okay, well... I don’t think I know very much at all. If anything, I think you might know more since you’re his best friend and all.”

Minhyuk arched an eyebrow, “What are you saying?”

“Three days ago, we made out in the washroom and he just... he pushed me away and he told me that he couldn’t,” Hoseok admitted, “I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean——”

“Hold up, hold up just one second——you _made out with him?_ ”

The answer is hesitant, “... yes?”

“You’ve known him for like a week, and he’s your boss——and you made out with him?” Minhyuk pressed.

“... well, we made out before he was my boss, too,” Hoseok argued. It hit the younger man slowly.

“Wait... you knew him before you began working here?” he asked, carefully. The confused expression on Hoseok’s face told him almost everything he needed to know, but he needed the confirmation in words. And he was either going to get that confirmation from Hoseok, right now, or he would pry it out of Kihyun. As if Kihyun would tell him sober.

“Didn’t he tell you...?” That’s not what he wanted to hear.

“How do you know my best friend?” Minhyuk demanded. He never thought he could sound that scary, but it clearly brings results, because the blond actually looked threatened——and his eyes clearly reflected the unwillingness to tell Minhyuk about this, if Kihyun himself hadn’t told his best friend. “Tell me.”

“... When did you take him to the nightclub? Does he go often?” Hoseok asked, and he’s obviously trying to find a way to say this indirectly. Minhyuk takes no bullshit, but just as he was about to say something, the dots connected in his head.

Kihyun went to the nightclub and disappeared that night. Kihyun came back to the office the next morning looking like all his worries and stresses were gone (which Minhyuk only associates with the after sex bliss and glow). Kihyun looked terribly shocked to see Hoseok on the morning of the interview. Kihyun actually _shut the door_ during the interview. And then every single day after that, Kihyun has been acting weird. He’s making connections between really distant things, but if it’s true, then it suddenly all makes sense.

“Oh my god.” Minhyuk gasped, _“Oh my god.”_

“What?” for a second, the blond looked confused again.

“Who topped?”

“Jesus fuck,” Hoseok swore, “How did you come to that conclusion? I’m not saying your conclusion is wrong, but——” he paused at the look on Minhyuk’s face and rolled his eyes, “... _me_. I topped.”

“You _actually_ had a one night stand with my best friend,” the white-haired man said, accusingly.

“Is that a crime? He certainly acts like it is, because he’s changed completely from when I first met him. He was so cute...” the blond closed his eyes and pressed slender fingers to his temples, “Like, sure I’m probably, in his eyes, a flirt and I’m not the best people person but he won’t even give me the light of day——I’m _trying_ to get him to talk to me, because he’s _damn_ cute.”

“You——” _You like him. Sort of._ Minhyuk paused, gathering himself, “Yes, technically, it is. Especially because you see him every single day. _Oh god, this is terrible_.” He can’t believe he’s about to spill out all of his best friend’s secrets, but he needed Hoseok to understand to stay away from Kihyun until the younger man could grasp his sanity, again.

“Okay, since you slept with him and it looks like you might be interested in at least being friends with him, I'm obliged to tell you this, but Kihyun can't know I told you or I'm dead. I'm only twenty-five, I don't want to be dead. If I’m _dead_ , I _can’t_ be your wingman.”

Hoseok nodded, silently. Minhyuk can hardly believe that Kihyun kept this a secret from him.

“First thing’s first——making out with someone in the company washroom is definitely not step one into trying to get them to talk to you.” the look the blond gives him obviously says ‘ _I get it, continue’_ ; Minhyuk cleared his throat, “So, Kihyun stopped going to nightclubs and sleeping with people a long time ago, because...”

 

 

 

The autumn air is cold chilly and Kihyun pulled his jacket closer to his body and exhaled quietly. There’s been too much on his mind and he hated leaving the office for personal reasons, but it wasn’t like he could work like this. His mind was weighed down with thoughts which connected his present with his past——he really shouldn’t have gone to the club with Minhyuk that night.

He avoided the clubs like the plague, but on the one night he lets himself go, he finds himself trapped.

Everything about his relationship with Hoseok reminded him too much of Chae Hyungwon. They’d met in a nightclub, had their fun with a bawdy night in bed and Kihyun let himself slip a little too far——wasn’t able to look at their escapade as a one-time thing, because Hyungwon had been nothing but sweet. He’d confessed his feelings to the younger man and they’d had a genuine relationship for a good two months. But, he should have known Hyungwon was only playing along for the sake of his body.

The older man had his heart torn into pieces when the younger man had up and left with a pitiful smile for Kihyun and soft voice spilling words which pierced into him like a thousand daggers: _‘I’m bored of playing around with you. Let’s break up’_.

It took Minhyuk months to get him to step outside of the house for a reason that wasn’t work.

Kihyun hated that his mind associated any intimate action with genuine feelings. Kissing someone made his heart skip a beat the next time he looked into their eyes, but sleeping with someone took things to an entirely different level. His mind and his heart filled themselves with memories and thoughts of their intimate moments and it's terrible, when he's trying to make things temporary. His mind didn't agree with his heart.

After Hyungwon, Kihyun hadn't wanted to ever repeat his footsteps, but an insistent best friend and a couple drinks had him locked in a position where he was hopeless——hopelessly attracted to the other man to extents that he probably shouldn't. Minhyuk would probably be so disappointed in him to know that he was already feeling things for someone——in the exact same context.

Shin Hoseok had been a ridiculous whim. There were differences. Obvious differences, even in the way they held him. But, Kihyun couldn’t stop himself from making the connection——for why would the other man touch him after their night together if he wasn’t after his body? They hardly knew one another. And Kihyun was sure he was being delusional about the differences, anyway.

Kihyun let it weigh on his mind as he took a sip of the latte in his hands, inhaling the autumn air. His cell phone is off and placed in one of the pockets of his jacket——this isn't what he'd scare Minhyuk half to death (with the schedule clearance demand) for, but there are perks to this mess.

_At the very least, he had the rest of the day to himself and away from everyone who reminded him of his problems._

 

 

 

The remainder of the week, Kihyun locked himself in his office and only spoke to Changkyun and Hyunwoo regarding the important matters about the start-up. Not being able to properly speak to Minhyuk without the guilt of keeping things from him eating him alive, he avoided the older man——left little notes for him on his desk as their main form of communication. The office is tense and they’re not as loud as they usually are——there’s just something about Kihyun not being himself that made everyone feel awkward.

Everyone but the new guy, who doesn’t actually know what _Kihyun being himself_ really is.

But, as Saturday morning graced Kihyun with the bright sunlight streaming through his window, he was also rewarded with the pounding of a fist to his front door——most obviously by Minhyuk.

_“Yoo Kihyun, open the door!”_

The dirty blond haired man trudged towards the door, rubbing his eyes and still dressed in his pajamas, a cup of coffee in between his hands. The week has been hard on him, his thoughts all over the place and his attention required over a million different things. Minhyuk demanding his attention right now was far from welcome, but he’s his best friend and he can’t have his best friend embarrassing him outside his door at nine-thirty in the goddamn morning.

“What do you want?” he questioned as he opened the door, and the other man shoved his way into Kihyun’s home.

“You look like a disaster, bestie,” Minhyuk chided as he made himself comfortable on the younger man’s sofa. Kihyun sighed and followed him into his living room.  

“I look perfectly fine for having just woken up on a Saturday morning,” Kihyun replied and Minhyuk grinned.

“You’ve been ignoring me all week,” there’s no venom to his voice, but there’s an obvious note of concern, “What’s going on, Ki?”

He doesn’t need to ask to know what his best friend is talking about. They know one another well enough to not need to ask, and Minhyuk knows him well enough to suspect something more if he were to actually ask what he meant. And he couldn’t risk that, though the guilt of hiding the smallest things from the man he was supposed to trust the most... it didn’t sit well with him.

Rubbing his eyes and taking a seat next to Minhyuk, the smaller man took a sip of his coffee and inhaled quietly.

“And before you give me any bullshit, I’m talking about you ignoring me and how you act very weird around the new guy. Tell me everything, Ki——I’m always here for you.”

It’s terribly reassuring to hear it from the man who helped him through months of coping with heartbreak and it fuels the guilt in his gut even more—— _how could he have hidden his emotions from Minhyuk and even ignored him?_ Kihyun is suddenly felt terrible and before he could say anything, Minhyuk spoke again, “I’m your best friend, and for as long as I am your best friend, I won’t let you suffer quietly. You can trust me——you’ve done it for eleven years.”

And in moments like this, he really doesn’t hate Lee Minhyuk at all.

That’s his cue to spill his guts to his best friend.

“He’s from the club, Min,” Kihyun breathed, “Hoseok... I didn’t know how to tell you. I really didn’t expect to ever see him again——I wanted to just look at everything like it was all a one-time thing, like you’ve told me a million times. But, I see him every day and I’m _feeling_ things. You know how I get when I don’t know how to express myself——”

“——you ignore everyone around you and hope that it all gets better,” Minhyuk finished, “I know. That’s why you’ve been ignoring me? Because you——?”

“Because I thought I failed your expectations,” Kihyun answered, “I’m supposed to be the more mature one between us. But, I do this thing where I convince myself that it’s real, get hurt, and then blame it on other people. I’m supposed to have my shit together and not fall for random people who happen to fuck me really good.”

Minhyuk made a face, “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that and I’m going to pretend that my serious mood isn’t ruined.”

Kihyun couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

“Listen, Ki,” Minhyuk started, “You’re at least on the right track in knowing where you’re wrong. Now, try to fix it. I don’t have expectations for you——I know you suck at keeping your mind straight when it comes to affection. I’ve known you for eleven years and if I didn’t know that, then I don’t deserve to be your best friend. But, listen: just because I can do something doesn’t mean you have to be able to. I just want you to be happy, and I’ll pull you away if someone is shitty and doesn’t deserve my dumb best friend, but you’re letting this affect you in the _workplace_ and even _I_ can’t stand for that. Hyojung, as great as she is of a CEO, would certainly be disappointed that her star manager is suddenly slacking a little. Let me be the mature one for once,” he took a breath, “And as for Hoseok... give him a chance to live a little, why don’t you? I don’t think someone who wants you for just your body would try _that_ hard to grab your attention.”

The response came as a quiet murmur, several moments after the taller man finished speaking, _“... wow.”_

Minhyuk exhaled, exasperated and whipped a pillow at Kihyun, “Are you serious? I pour my entire heart out to you and that’s all you have to say?”

The coffee spilled out of the mug and Kihyun barely dodges it——it splashes onto the hardwood floor and Kihyun patiently placed his mug down, before grabbing a pillow and smothering his friend with it. Minhyuk choked from the lack of air before they’re both gasping for air from how hard they’re laughing.

“It’s great to have you back, Kihyun. I’ve missed you,” Minhyuk grinned, hugging the younger man. “Hey, get dressed. Let’s go get breakfast.”

“You’re so gross, I hate you.”

But as Kihyun is getting up to get dressed, they’re both sure that they both know what they really mean. Minhyuk’s glad to have his best friend back, because the man working in the office with him for the past few days has definitely not been the Kihyun he knew, and Kihyun’s just telling him _‘thank you, I’m so grateful that you’re my best friend’_ , because that’s just how best friends were.

 

 

 

The next week has the office bustling with happiness (or at least a lack of that awkwardness which lingered thickly in the air) again, when Kihyun is back to barking orders at the awkward associates who never know how to act around him. It might be Kihyun’s brighter mood that lit the office up, or maybe it’s just the fact that it’s payday. Changkyun threw an arm over his shoulder during his lunch break and grinned brightly with a remark of how great it is to finally have their boss back——Kihyun playfully kicked him. Jooheon flashed bright dimples at every employee walking into the office and it’s enough to brighten anyone’s day.

Kihyun is busy discussing a business plan with Hyunwoo when, from the corner of his eye, he sees Minhyuk pulling Hoseok over to him and seemingly whispering aggressively into his ear. He can’t help but be curious and Hyunwoo arched a curious eyebrow at him, when he’d picked up on the lack of attention he was getting.

The tall man tapped a pen against the clipboard, “Kihyun, are you listening?”

“Oh yeah, I am,” he replied, turning back to Hyunwoo and flashing a smile, “The market’s doing well and you’re proposing that we...”

“Expand on the product,” Hyunwoo finished, smiling in sheer (and obvious) satisfaction——because Kihyun was actually listening to him.

“That sounds great,” Kihyun's a little distracted again when his eyes briefly meet with Minhyuk’s and he brushed the taller man off, “Draft up a couple ideas for me and we'll have a proper meeting between the officers. Changkyun needs to be there, too.”

Hyunwoo chuckled and nodded, “Of course.”

The blond brushed past Hyunwoo as soon as the conversation came to a close, and it seems he's extremely popular for the day because he can't even make the twenty meter walk to Minhyuk's desk without being stopped by an ecstatic Jooheon——always with good news.

“Mr. Yoo!” Jooheon started and Kihyun shook his head.

“I've told you a million times to just call me Kihyun, Jooheon,” Kihyun reminded him. The receptionist smiled sheepishly.

“Kihyun,” he amended, “I got everything booked for the annual event. Everything is ready to go for a week from now!”

The ‘annual event’ they liked to call it was really just a gathering of the entire office, less the interns and associates (in other words, just Kihyun and the department managers and other officers with the addition of Jooheon and Minhyuk), at a fancy bar and they all got hammered for a night in celebration of their successful sales. It's been tradition for the past three years.

Apparently, the office enjoyed getting so drunk that their hangovers lasted days. The interns and associates never seemed to mind because in such situations, their heads were nicer and didn't hammer down on rules. Kihyun, who never drinks _that_ much is the only one they need to fear until their department heads finally cleared their heads.

Kihyun beamed, “Always reliable. Did you send out the invitation e-mails?”

There are only a rough five invitations needed, excluding Jooheon himself. One for each of the department managers and their direct assistants (though only Kihyun and Changkyun have assistants——Minhyuk, the secretary, and Hoseok, the new accounting head in training).

Jooheon nodded, “Yes sir!” then he’s off back to man the reception desk which he used to share with Minhyuk.

And if anyone really thought Kihyun wasn't ever happy in the office, then they'd never seen him speak to the epitome of happiness, known as Lee Jooheon, whilst standing in the same room as the blazing sunshine known as his best friend. No one could be angry in the presence of the two. Ever.

Kihyun is free to make his way back to Minhyuk’s desk and Hoseok is gone by the time he’s there.

“You’re in an awfully good mood today,” Minhyuk remarked as soon as Kihyun draped himself across his best friend’s back. The white-haired man pushed him off playfully, but makes sure that he doesn’t actually fall.

Kihyun took a seat on Minhyuk’s desk, cheekily and smiled, “Should I go back to being my stay-silent-and-ignore-everyone state?”

“That’s a definite no,” he replied and he stopped typing for a moment, turning to look at Kihyun, “So, we’re feeling better?”

It doesn’t take a genius to know what Minhyuk is talking about, so Kihyun obviously gets it, immediately, “I think so. I mean, looking at him hasn’t thrown me into a terrible state of self-despising and regret, so...”

“ _That_ is a good note,” Minhyuk cut him off and chuckled. “There’s a bunch of folders on your desk. Changkyun wanted you to take a look at them. Or at least, that’s what Hoseok said when he dropped them off a little earlier.”

“Thanks, Min,” Kihyun replied, heading into his office and shutting the door behind him.

It takes him the entire rest of the day to look through the ridiculous stack of documents which had been placed on his desk and he catches the little slip of paper which falls towards the floor as he’s closing the folders and filing them away. There’s a messy scribe on it, but he can read it: _‘you’ve got really pretty eyes. Look at me, please?’_ It’s cute, but he’s sure it’s not meant for him (maybe, someone forgot it when they’d slipped it in for Changkyun——the idea of a blooming office romance is hilarious in this firm).

Kihyun quickly pocketed it as there’s a knock on his door, at six o’clock sharp, and Minhyuk’s voice follows.

“I’m here to be paid,” he says in a singsong tone and Kihyun chuckles, unlocking the door and rounding to take a seat at his desk and he keys open a drawer, pulling out the stack of paychecks.

Minhyuk is always the first to go grab his paycheck, because he’s stationed right in front of Kihyun’s desk and if anyone else made it to Kihyun before he did, then it would be sad. Kihyun signs off the cheques and hands them off to his employees, one by one. Jooheon is next and the adorable receptionist squishes Kihyun into an excited hug when he's actually given that bonus which Kihyun had promised him for having obediently made him a collective dozen of coffee cups.

They all file into his office one after another and it looks funny, because there’s never this many people outside Kihyun’s office. On paydays, Kihyun stays at the office a little later, for the stragglers that hang out with the others before they prioritize getting paid. Hoseok is the last to come for his payment and it surprised Kihyun, because his initial impression of the man had been something along the lines of _always on time_ , though he’s not sure how he came to that conclusion.

When Kihyun signs off the cheque, slips it halfway into the envelope but doesn’t seal it, silently and hands it over to Hoseok, then taller man looks at it for a moment and the corners of his lips curl into a small smile. Kihyun arched an eyebrow and closed the drawer, locking it before looking back at Hoseok.

“What’s so funny?” Kihyun inquired, “I want to laugh, too.”

“That’s a lot of zeros. And you spelled my name wrong,” Hoseok replied, turning the cheque around and Kihyun leans in to check his own spelling before his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He swiped the slip of paper from Hoseok’s hand, but the platinum haired man is quicker at taking his pen. “It’s like this...”

Suddenly, Kihyun’s hands are held in Hoseok’s and the taller man is guiding his fingers to write his name correctly. Kihyun can’t deny the rapid pounding of his heart, this time——because it feels like someone tore his heart out and pressed it to his ear: it’s so _loud_.

“I can write myself,” Kihyun murmured, quietly but his fingers still follow Hoseok’s guide. _This is too much for his heart._

“Can’t have you wasting a cheque on spelling my name wrong,” Hoseok replied.

Kihyun can feel the soft breaths following words against his ear——that’s when Kihyun realizes that he’s _so_ close. The dirty blond haired man quickly completed the final stroke and grabbed the envelope before pushing his hands away from Hoseok’s and then slipping the cheque back in. Hoseok stepped back but there’s the hints of a small smile on his lips.

Kihyun wants to hit him, but Hoseok’s voice breaks his violent thoughts.

“Can I maybe take you out to dinner, someday?”

Kihyun arched an eyebrow, handing him the sealed envelope, “Is this because I'm handing you your paycheck and we pay well?”

It comes off a lot cooler than he’d ever give himself credit for.

Hoseok's smile is genuine and sweet as he shook his head, “No, it's because I think I'd like to get to know you better and a little birdy told me that trying to stick my tongue down someone's throat isn't the way to get to know them.”

“And you're aware that you're asking out the only human resources officer at this firm, and if you disappoint him, he'll fire you?” Kihyun cracked a smile as Hoseok pulled the paycheck envelope from his fingers.

“I think he's worth the risk.”

Kihyun swears his heart does that stupid leaping thing again and he wants to run away again. But, in the back of his head, he hears Minhyuk's pleading voice to give Hoseok a chance. He doesn't know why it stands out so much, but he exhaled and crossed his arms over his chest.

“7PM on Friday,” Kihyun replied, “Pick me up and don't be late.”

_Minhyuk would be proud of him._

 

 

 

Kihyun told Minhyuk about the plans to go on a date with Hoseok and the white-haired man had wiggled his brows playfully before pushing Kihyun out of the office an hour early, with the promise that he'd take care of the office in his absence. There's no arguing against Lee Minhyuk once he's made up his mind, so Kihyun heads home at five instead of the intended six.

He's got nothing better to do, so he spends the entirety of two hours to get ready for the date he has. Going out with Hoseok would be his first date since the second week of when he was still dating Hyungwon. It's been a really long time, and Kihyun kind of hates the fact that Minhyuk isn't there to be his personal stylist.

Kihyun's phone buzzes when he's halfway buried into his closet wondering what the hell is appropriate for a date. Frazzled, he finds his way back out and flops onto his bed, checking the device. It's a text from Hoseok.

 **[ 05:53 PM ] SHIN HOSEOK (WONHO):** Where'd you go? You're not in your office?

Shifting to make himself comfortable, Kihyun typed a quick reply.

 **[ 05:54 PM ]** I'm at home. Have to look nice, because we have a date.

He can't believe he's actually ignoring every anxious feeling in his gut and he's actually flirting. He's pretty sure this isn't what Minhyuk meant by giving the other man a chance, but what's done is done and he can't take back his texts. His phone buzzes again.

 **[ 05:56 PM ] SHIN HOSEOK (WONHO):** You're so cute. Let me hug you later, please. But, trust me, you always look nice. No need to try.

Kihyun laughed quietly under his breath and he smiled to himself at the compliments. Hoseok certainly had a way with words, and it's making his heart race a little. Burying his face into a pillow, Kihyun exhaled and attempted to calm his racing heart before typing back a reply.

 **[ 06:01 PM ]** Thank you. But, I don't know about that hug... maybe if you get lucky.

The response is immediate.

 **[ 06:01 PM ] SHIN HOSEOK (WONHO):** But, you know how much I like you in my arms. :(

Kihyun's mind immediately reminds him of similar words spoken by Hoseok when they'd initially slept together. The image of Hoseok naked in his head is very distracting, so Kihyun doesn't reply to the text. He gets off of his bed and buries himself back into his closet.

Hoseok picks him up perfectly on time. At seven on the dot, his doorbell rings and Kihyun's just buttoning up his shirt, because he's terrible at picking out clothes without Minhyuk. The smaller man flashed a smile as he buttoned up the last button and opened the door for Hoseok at the same time.

“Hey,” he greeted breathlessly, having run down the stairs.

“Hey, not done?” Hoseok questioned, and Kihyun has the decency to blush a little.

“Just give me like, five minutes. Take a seat, make yourself at home.” Kihyun answered with a small smile, “I swear I'm not usually this disorganized.”

“It's okay,” Hoseok told him, “It reminds me that you're not actually flawless like my mind likes to tell me you are.”

Kihyun brushed off his flattery with a laugh, “Well, I might be.”

As Kihyun is rushing back up the stairs to grab his belt, the older man takes a seat on his sofa, waiting for him. He's does up the buckle and is headed down the stairs, but Hoseok has his head leaned back against the sofa and the chiseled features of his visage are outlined by the light——it's captivating and Kihyun has to take a moment to admire it.

He doesn't notice that he's staring until Hoseok's voice breaks the silence——he always seemed to do that!

“You're back,” he smiled. Kihyun pretends that he doesn't think Hoseok's smile is breathtaking.

It’s not a good idea to admit that he was busy staring at the platinum haired man from the top of the staircase. “Yeah, took me a little while, but I'm ready to go.”

Getting up from his seat, Hoseok offered Kihyun his hand, “I know you're my boss and if I disappoint you, then I'm getting fired, but while we're both dressed up and you're as breathtaking as ever, just let me treat you like you deserve to be treated for a night.”

Kihyun swears he melts a little, even though he has no idea how many times Hoseok has used that line on someone (that foolish part of him hopes that it's not very many).

Hoseok takes him to a nice restaurant: it’s typical of a first date and a complete 180 from their initial meeting. It looks a lot more romantic than it should, with dim lights and well-dressed patrons——Kihyun supposes that it looks like something from out of a romantic comedy about the high class. Though, with the entire setup of the place in front of him, it really makes him think that this really _is_ because Hoseok’s paycheck had a lot of trailing zeros.

Hoseok is sweet——terribly so, and Kihyun thinks to himself when the taller man pulls out his chair for him that he might be dreaming, because there’s no one in this world who actually acts out scenes from dramas. They fall into easy conversation when Kihyun doesn’t have his walls up and watching the way Hoseok passionately speaks about _numbers_ is as captivating as looking into his eyes. Kihyun swears he’s already too deep into this.

They take their time with their meals and Kihyun really hopes it’s the atmosphere and not Hoseok’s eyes and smile that his heart is beating so quickly for. The night progresses with laughter and smiles——Kihyun can’t believe he’s been shutting out someone like Hoseok. For the first time, since Hyungwon, Kihyun actually feels happy.

“I can’t believe someone like you is single,” Hoseok remarked after Kihyun makes a joke and there’s this light of amazement in his eyes. Kihyun doesn’t think he’s ever seen someone look at him like that before.

“Well, you’d better believe it,” he answered, popping a piece of bread into his mouth. Hoseok laughs and it _still_ sounds like the brightest explosion of happiness in Kihyun’s ears——almost nothing has changed since the night at the bar, Kihyun realizes. His view of Hoseok hasn’t changed in the slightest. He’s as gorgeous as ever and Kihyun still thinks that _maybe_ , he could get used to something like this. Just maybe.

 _“Man,”_ Hoseok breathed, “I don’t know how anyone could have let go of someone so amazing.”

The statement triggered immediate panic to Kihyun’s brain and something connects, haphazardly. _He knows._ And everything progresses suddenly: Kihyun’s expression immediately changed and his eyes harden——his conscience is sorry to Minhyuk for letting him down again, but he’s hardly apologetic to Hoseok. Dropping his fork, Kihyun’s lips curled into tight smile.

“You think so?”

The look on Hoseok’s face obviously shows that he knows he’s fucked up, “Kihyun, wait——”

“It’s been nice,” Kihyun told him, tone clipped, “But, I think I need to go.”

And if this were a romantic comedy, then maybe Kihyun would have gathered his stuff and left. But, he didn’t bring anything, so he stands and turns on his heel. He can hear the older man settling the bill in a panic from behind him and he drowns it out, walking away from the table.

Hoseok is running after him as soon as the frigid breeze hits against his visage and the taller man grabs onto his wrist. It’s cold enough to see a breath of fog leave Hoseok’s mouth when he breathes a little too hard, “Kihyun, please. Don’t go, I’m sorry. Minhyuk told me. He said not to let you know that I knew, but——”

“Why?” Kihyun pressed, not turning around to look at the taller man. “Why did _you_ deserve to know about _me_?”

The taller man visibly swallowed and he inhaled quietly, “I—— I don’t know... I told Minhyuk that I was interested in you, I guess... and he told me a story... told me not to hurt you. Looks like that’s exactly what I did, though. Kihyun, I’m sorry, please don’t go——”

If he weren’t so angry with his best friend for spilling his secrets, then maybe he might have forgiven the man standing before him. Shaking his hand from Hoseok’s grip, Kihyun shook his head, “You’ll regret asking me to stay, so I won’t listen to you. Thank you for the date, Hoseok,” Kihyun answered.

He completely misses the heartbroken look on Hoseok’s face as Kihyun leaves him alone outside the restaurant.

 

 

 

“I can’t believe you’d do this to me!” Kihyun shouted over the phone, and he can’t see Minhyuk but he knows the other man is wincing from the volume——probably holding his phone a good distance away from his ear, despite having just picked up.

“What did I do?” Minhyuk questioned and his voice sounds distant so Kihyun assumes that he’s right.

“You told him. I can’t believe you’d _tell_ him about Hyungwon!”

There’s an exasperated sigh from Minhyuk’s side and it echoes audibly, “I can’t believe you’re not over that idiot.”

Kihyun’s voice doesn’t need to show that he’s miffed at the statement, but he makes it obvious, “I _am_ over him. You’re supposed to be my best friend. You’re not supposed to tell everyone about _my_ story. I can’t believe——”

“Kihyun, shut up and listen to me,” Minhyuk answered and Kihyun actually shuts his mouth, because no matter how worked up he was, he’s never heard Minhyuk sound so annoyed. And especially not with him. “Take a breath and calm down.”

The blond stayed silent and Minhyuk continued, “Yes, I was wrong for telling someone else about your story without you giving me permission to, but you’re hurting someone else by continuously obsessing over an ex-boyfriend who clearly doesn’t care for you. Kihyun, every second that you cling onto this past as something _so vital_ to you is another second that you’re _not over_ Chae Hyungwon. Everyone can see that. And disagree with me all you want, I know that you know I’m right. At this point, everyone in the damn office knows your story.

“Changkyun asked me the other day if you’re happier because you’ve finally got over that shitbag who doesn’t deserve someone as great as you are. For fuck’s sake, even Hyunwoo asked me about it. You’re delusional if you think everything has been the same and all great ever since the whole Hyungwon fiasco. I’ve gotten used to the Kihyun after Hyungwon, but I’d give anything to get back the Kihyun who knew his worth and didn’t break down over the thought of a stupid boy.

“I’m your best friend, I supposed to support you through thick and thin, but I’m also supposed to set you straight when you’re wrong. And this is the most wrong you’ve ever been in our eleven years of friendship. I’m looking out for you, Kihyun. I want you to get over Hyungwon, and while that might not justify me spilling your secrets, I’m pretty sure Hoseok _knowing_ about your past _stops_ him from doing the same shit to you. He likes you, Kihyun.

It’s your choice if you want to acknowledge that or not, I’m not telling you that you need to go and fall in love with Hoseok, but you need to seriously get over Chae Hyungwon and stop using him as an excuse to never be happy. Before you give me the _‘it’s harder than you think’_ bullshit, I want you to honestly try to get over him. And if you can’t do that, then I don’t know what else to do with you, Yoo Kihyun.”

Minhyuk hangs up after that and Kihyun sits alone in his room.

He falls back into his pillow and groans loudly.

 

 

 

The annual event rolls by a lot sooner than Kihyun anticipated and he’s hardly talking to Minhyuk, so it feels awkward on the day of the event. He’s always given Minhyuk a ride to the event, but the older man had taken a ride from Hyunwoo instead. It’s terribly disheartening and when Kihyun actually makes it to the venue, the very first person he runs into is Jooheon. The receptionist flashed him a small smile and threw an arm over his shoulder.

“Minhyuk wanted me to tell you that he’s not mad at you,” Jooheon started, “But he said that you have a lesson to learn.”

Kihyun groaned and the receptionist pats his back gently, “I hate him.”

“No, you don’t. You’ve told me every single year while you downed three shots at a time that you didn’t think you loved anyone more than your best friend. And that’s Minhyuk,” Jooheon answered, brightly. “Now, let’s just enjoy the one night that we’re all allowed to be terribly unprofessional without Ms. Hyojung kicking our asses!”

Jooheon disappears into the crowd after he takes Kihyun to their reserved table and he doesn’t see Minhyuk. Changkyun and Hoseok are intently conversing about something over their glasses of wine and they book look gorgeous (but Changkyun kind of looks like he might fall over at any given second: it makes Kihyun wonder how many drinks they’ve given the youngest). From the corner of his eye, he can see Minhyuk talking to Hyunwoo. He decides not to interrupt and he takes a seat next to Changkyun with a tight smile.

“Hey,” Changkyun grinned and Kihyun can’t believe how drunk he already sounds. They’d all been here for less than two hours and Kihyun has just walked in——always fashionably late, because these events always happened to be planned on the days that he needed to submit vital reports to Hyojung before leaving the office.

“Hi, Changkyun,” Kihyun answered with a small smile and the younger man leans against him.

“Whoa, you’re like... white...” Changkyun slurred, “He’s like... pink.”

It takes Kihyun a moment to realize that Changkyun’s talking about Hoseok, who happened to be sitting right in front of them, eyeing them curiously. Eyes raising to meet with Hoseok’s visage, Kihyun bites back a snort of amusement because his cheeks are _actually_ flushed pink from the alcohol (somewhere in the back of Kihyun’s mind, he’s suddenly assured that Hoseok definitely hadn’t had very much to drink on the day they’d met).

“That’s because I haven’t had anything to drink,” Kihyun replied.

“Am I pink?”

“It’s a very nice colour on you, Changkyun,” Kihyun answered, and the younger man actually looks proud. Kihyun’s sure that he won’t last another ten minutes awake. Changkyun is dragged away from the table by Jooheon, several moments later. Kihyun doesn’t really mind, because he wouldn’t have been able to have a coherent conversation with him, anyway.

Just as he’s about to say something to Hoseok when the drunken male smiles at him, Minhyuk grabs the platinum haired man and pulls him towards the bar——he’s pretty sure that Hoseok shouldn’t have any more drinks, but he doesn’t say anything about it.

For the majority of the night, Kihyun nurses a virgin cocktail, because he’s extremely certain that only he and Hyunwoo will be sober enough to make sure that everyone gets home safely by the end of the night. It’s the ones who get there late who are rewarded with the position of being the designated driver. And contrary to popular belief, it’s actually ridiculously fun to watch everyone get shitfaced and talk to you as if you’re drunk, too.

At around ten, Hyunwoo is back at their table with Hoseok and Minhyuk. They’re both drunk out of their minds, and Kihyun is silently glad that he wasn’t the one who was roped into his best friend’s antics. It’s settling to his mind to know that the white-haired man in Hyunwoo’s lap isn’t mad at him, because it means that his laugh is entirely justified.

“You drove here, right?” Hyunwoo asked him, and Kihyun’s not surprised that he’s completely sober.

“I did, why?” Kihyun confirmed with an arch of an eyebrow. Hyunwoo lifts an almost lifeless Hoseok and Kihyun inhales quietly.

That’s the silent: _please take him home, now._

“I’d take him home, but there’s an issue...” Hyunwoo remarked, gesturing to the way Minhyuk is sprawled across him and shitfaced, but demanding that _no one_ touch him aside from Hyunwoo. Kihyun doesn’t ever recall being that drunk, ever and he’s entirely too grateful for it.

“I can drive,” Kihyun volunteered, out of the sheer goodness of his heart and Hyunwoo smiles at him.

“Take him home, Kihyun,” Hyunwoo said, “Find Changkyun, too. He’s somewhere out on the dance floor. He really needs to get his ass home, too. I’ll make sure everyone else gets home safely.”

“Sure thing, Hyunwoo,” he replied, and he’s a little awkward as he bends down to Hoseok’s height. Their first conversation of the night starts off with Kihyun’s hesitant, “Can you walk?”

“Yup,” Hoseok answered, stumbling a little as he stands up. Kihyun rolled his eyes. _Yup_ , the drunken way of saying _hell no, I can’t._

“Okay, stay there. I’m going to go find Changkyun.”

Hoseok plopped back into his seat obediently and Kihyun wonders how many drinks he’s had.

It isn’t that hard to find Changkyun, because he’s leaning against a wall on the dance floor looking like he might pass out any second from now. Kihyun retrieves his two drunken men and drag them back to his car. He pushes them both into the back seat and slips into the car with an exhale. The headache he has is probably worse than any hangover that any of them are going to have in the morning.

He drops Changkyun off first, feeling the younger man up for his keys and then pushing him into the apartment and preparing a glass of water for him and a couple painkillers for the morning. Changkyun is going to need it.

When he returns to the car, Hoseok is passed out in the back seat and Kihyun feels himself softening a little. It’s kind of crazy. Nudging Hoseok awake, Kihyun exhaled softly, “Are you sober enough to tell me how to get to your place?” he asked.

“No...” Hoseok answered, peeking out of the window onto the street. For a second, Kihyun thinks this is hopeless and there’s absolutely no way that he’s going to be able to get the older man home, but Hoseok’s eyes narrow at the street signs and he murmurs something incoherent about turning left and heading straight.

“I’m going to need you to repeat that,” Kihyun urged.

“Not far from here,” Hoseok slurred, “... turn left and drive straight until you see the tall buildings... there’s three. It’s the far one.”

 _Good enough_. Kihyun sighed and starts the engine again, hesitantly following the drunk man’s instructions.

They don’t talk again until Kihyun is helping the blond to walk towards the stairs of his apartment building. Hoseok is pressed against the wall because Kihyun needs the support of something a little more solid to keep Hoseok upright. The younger man has to internally curse the fact that this man lived on the fifth floor. That was four necessary flights of stairs, because the elevator had to conveniently be broken.

This time, their conversation starts from Hoseok, when Kihyun is taking a quick break from lugging the man up three of the four flights of stairs.

“You’ve got really pretty eyes,” Hoseok murmured, his fingers tracing Kihyun’s cheek and the younger man holds his breath. He suddenly doesn’t know what to do, so he averts his eyes, “No, look at me... please?”

_Oh._

A soft inhale and then Kihyun’s eyes are meeting with Hoseok’s earnest eyes again. _They say a drunk man doesn’t lie_. Kihyun thinks he probably should have taken a shot, or ten, before taking Hoseok home because he isn’t sure how he’s going to deal with this while he’s completely sober.

“I won’t hurt you, Kihyun... I promise,” Hoseok’s hands are gentle and warm as they cradle Kihyun’s face and the younger man swears his heart stops. His voice is soft, but there’s a slight slur to them——Kihyun makes out every single word clearly. “I can’t give you very much, but I can give you me——as I am and as everything I feel for you. If you’ll let me love you, I swear I’ll love you right.”

Kihyun feels his resolve shattering into pieces between the hands of the taller man, because Shin Hoseok isn’t just any random man from the clubs, who pushed Kihyun away when he couldn’t think of them as a one-time thing. Shin Hoseok is sincere and the sweetest man Kihyun’s ever met in his life.

_But, Shin Hoseok is also drunk._

With a heavy heart, Kihyun mustered a laugh and helped the man up the stairs, “What are you saying? You’re drunk.”

“But, I mean it,” Hoseok said as they finally get to his floor.

“Give me your keys,” Kihyun tells him, ignoring the taller man and he keyed them into the apartment. Hoseok’s bedroom isn’t hard to find——the door is wide open and Kihyun dumps the older man onto his bed before turning to leave. He figures that he can take care of himself, but he feels that pang of guilt as he’s turning to leave. For Hoseok as well, Kihyun prepares a glass of water and the pills for his morning hangover.

As he’s returning to Hoseok’s bedroom and he places the pills onto the nightstand, Hoseok tugs him on the wrist and Kihyun inhales quietly. The drunken man speaks, “Thank you... you’re so sweet. I wish I could keep you forever... I’d be blessed to have you.”

Hoseok pulls him to take a seat next to him on the bed and Kihyun knows this isn’t going to end well.

“You’re drunk, you don’t know what you’re saying,” Kihyun mumbled, “You’re not going to remember this in the morning, but I will and it’s going to kill my heart because it’s going to go crazy every time I see you.”

But, Hoseok’s lips are soft against his, even though he tastes like alcohol and Kihyun kind of melts into the kiss. As always, it feels like heaven to have his lips pressed gently against Hoseok’s and there’s a quiet groan that leaves his lips when Hoseok tries to slip his tongue into his mouth. He lets it happen. Again, he’s breathless when he pulls away and Kihyun feels dizzy.

“My God, what are you doing to me?” he murmured and Hoseok smiles lightly at him before passing out.

“Just trying to make you fall in love with me.”

_Kihyun thinks he might have already done so._

 

 

 

They never actually talk about that night, when the office is back to normal and bustling with hungover employees. Kihyun falls ill the next week and he leaves Minhyuk in charge of the office. Unfortunately, that apparently also meant that Minhyuk was sending someone in his stead to take care of Kihyun as if he really can’t take care of himself.

But, Kihyun’s really just making a fuss about it because he can’t believe Minhyuk would give _Hoseok_ the key to his apartment. He woke up to a hot towel on his forehead and a bowl of soup on the nightstand——it smells good, so there’s no way that Minhyuk made it. But, when Hoseok appears in the doorway, Kihyun swears under his breath.

“I can’t believe Minhyuk,” Kihyun wheezed.

“Minhyuk told me to not let you talk,” Hoseok told him, “You’re sick and you’re going to get your vocal chords strained. And that means you’re going to sound like a poor impression of Batman for the rest of the month. That’s not really sexy.”

Kihyun weakly throws a pillow at him.

“I hate you,” he croaked, “How did you get in?”

The blond dangled a set of keys from his hand——Kihyun recognizes them as the emergency keys that he’d given to Minhyuk.

“Who do you hate more, me or him?” Hoseok challenged, and Kihyun shuts up and holds onto his plush toy, childishly miffed.

They don’t say very much else, because Hoseok is busy on his phone for the majority of the day——for the sake of work, probably, because he can make out the characters of Changkyun’s name written across the screen. Every time Kihyun coughs, though, Hoseok immediately puts his phone down and checks to make sure that Kihyun isn’t _dying_.

“You think I don’t remember what happened the night that I got shitfaced,” Hoseok remarked, when he’s changing the hot towel on Kihyun’s forehead and the younger man hates how he feels so pathetic.

“I might not know exactly what I said to you, but I remember you telling me that I don’t know what I’m saying, because I was drunk,” he continued and Kihyun feels his heart racing——it’s certainly not because he’s sick. “But, I can tell you that if it sounded anything like a confession, then I meant every single bit of it. It’s been a challenge to get you to even look at me, but I remember you kissing me, that night——do you know what that felt like? _Like it was all worth it._ ”

Kihyun swears his heart stops, then.

“I hope you know that I’m not going to ever give up on getting you to be mine, so... while you’re all vulnerable——but still adorable——I’m going to ask you if you’ll be my boyfriend.” Hoseok paused, “So, Yoo Kihyun, will you be my boyfriend?”

He hates that he doesn’t have the strength to punch Hoseok in the face. Instead, Kihyun gets Hoseok sick for the next week when he tugs him down and kisses the life out of him.

_It’s worth a shot._

 

 

 

The different in the office when Hoseok is allowed to put his hands on Kihyun whenever he wants and hug him tightly is amazing. It’s brighter and Minhyuk is always pleased to let Hoseok into Kihyun’s office whenever he locks the door——it’s to the point that Kihyun wonders why he even has a lock on his door when Minhyuk had a spare key. But, he doesn’t mind seeing Hoseok.

It’s been a month and this becomes routine.

“Kihyun,” came the soft voice of his boyfriend. _It still makes his heart flutter to say it._ Halting a hand, the younger man arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“I’m dropping something off for Changkyun,” Hoseok responded. “And paying my lovely boyfriend a quick visit.”

Kihyun rolled his eyes and placed his pen down, “Shut the door behind you, you piece of shit.”

When Hoseok shuts the door behind him, he tosses the spare keys onto Kihyun’s desk and Kihyun grins slightly. He’s always amazed at how Hoseok manages to get keys off of the practical _guardian_ of all the keys in the office——but, he’s sure that Minhyuk has some sort of soft spot for Hoseok, because he’s Kihyun’s boyfriend (even whilst they’re trying to keep it on the down low).

Kihyun meets him in the middle and wraps his arms around him in a tight hug and he inhales the older man’s scent, “I missed you.”

“I know you did,” Hoseok replied, hugging him back and pressing his lips to Kihyun’s forehead. There’s this fluttery feeling in Kihyun’s stomach whenever Hoseok does that. It’s quickly ruined when the older man speaks again, “Hey, babe?”

“Hmm?”

“... I have a little bit of a problem. Want to help me out?”

Kihyun looked up curiously, before the suggestive tone of Hoseok’s voice registers in his mind and he smacks his chest.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kihyun whispered, harshly. Hoseok grinned, sheepishly.

“Well...” Hoseok started. He doesn’t need to finish his sentence.

Kihyun groaned and pushed Hoseok into his chair before locking the door of his office and falling to his knees in front of his boyfriend. He’s not actually complaining, when he unbuckles the older man’s belt——especially since the moan that leaves Hoseok’s lips when Kihyun’s hot mouth enveloped his length is needy and _so hot_.

 

 

 

_BONUS_

 

“Do you think they’re having sex in there?” Minhyuk murmured, ear pressed against the door of Kihyun’s office.

“We’re not paid to listen to them having sex,” Hyunwoo scolded, lightly and they both freeze when there’s a particularly loud groan coming from inside Kihyun’s office, followed by the whisper of _‘you’re such a good boy’_.

Minhyuk turned to Hyunwoo, silently before speaking matter-of-factly, “They’re having sex.”

“You act like we’ve never had sex in my office.”

The mortified look on Minhyuk’s face is because Changkyun and Jooheon turned to look at them, scandalously. Jooheon looks like he might throw up, whilst Changkyun looks genuinely interested.

He throws a folder at Hyunwoo’s head.

**Author's Note:**

> And this marks the series as complete. Ahh. This will most likely be my last longer work for a while, as school starts tomorrow. As always, I'm always available via [Twitter](http://twitter.com/yuseokki/) for any fic ideas, prompts and/or screaming needs.


End file.
